Excerpts:
What’s new about Ara?
I am working on a new movie project. I produced one last year, Osun Funke. I am working on another one right now. We don’t have a title yet. I am also working on a TV series and a couple of other things. The title of the TV series is Agbeke’s Corner.
What happened to your music?
The reason why I don’t talk about my music is that I have been talking about releasing my album for years but it was never released so right now, I have decided to stop talking about it.
Why couldn’t you release your album for years?
A couple of reasons. But definitely it’s going to be released. I am going to be 40 in January and I am looking at doing something then.
Turning 40 is just around the corner. How does it feel like?
I thank God for it. It’s been wonderful and beautiful, it’s been happy and it’s been sad; call it a mixed grill but at the end of the day, we have to thank God because it’s all part of life. Sometimes you lose and sometimes you win. I have gained a lot and I have also lost a lot.
Tell us about the happy moments?
My childhood was a happy one. My mum, father, siblings and family were just wonderful. The various times I overcame obstacles were happy ones. In 1987 I was sick and my parents thought I was going to die but miraculously, I bounced back. For weeks my head was stuck to my neck and I couldn’t movie it. It was a strange illness.
Would you say it was a spiritual attack?
Yes I am a very down to earth person. I was sick for weeks and my parents took me everywhere to no avail but my father promised me that if I don’t die he would make me a star and that was how I recovered. He knew I liked Michael Jackson. At the time I had already started singing and drumming and within three days I was walking again.
So tell us about your first crush, your first kiss?
It was with Michael Jackson (laughter). I had his posters all over my wall in my room but back to reality, I was hot and guys were always on my case. I was doing a lot of things like drumming, sports and I was on TV and you always saw me among the boys because I was a tomboy and I wasn’t dating any one of them even throughout my university days.
When was the first time you fell in love?
There were times I thought I had fallen in love but it was just infatuation. I would rather talk about the first kiss. I looked forward to it with so much passion because I knew that someday I was going to be kissed. I had seen it on TV and in my peer group we discussed it. I was particularly observing the way they were kissing on movies and I did not want to mess up when it finally happened. I had to watch Bold & Restless over and over again to master the art of kissing. I was hot and a lot of guys were all over me but I knew nothing; I was a green horn. I used to practice in my room but when I eventually got kissed I was so disappointed! I just felt that after all the long wait, there’s no big deal to it after all.
So when was the first time you really enjoyed a kiss?
I can’t mention his name because he is dead now. I remember he was the first to ask me for a kiss. It was actually the first time someone was asking before giving me a kiss. Before you just looked at each other and before you knew it you were kissing. It was sometime around 5am in the morning. We had gone to a party and danced and he dropped me off. I was surprised when he asked and the kiss was magical. I believed I was going to get married to him eventually and we would be together for the rest of our lives making beautiful kids but unfortunately, he died. I was devastated! But life goes on.
There was a sensational break up a while ago in your marriage. Is there a new guy now?
I would not say anything about that.
A lot of guys could reach out to you after reading this…
I am not available (laughter); I don’t want to talk about my relationship. I don’t want to talk about him. He is a very special man. I have never found a man like him.
Are you still talking to your ex, are you still friends?
My ex actually wants me back. He has been begging and calling saying all kind of things and I have told him it can’t work.
Is it that you’re still hurting?
No, it’s just that I don’t want to go back to that kind of a relationship anymore. There were things involved I wouldn’t want to talk about.
Was it abuse, domestic violence…?
I don’t want to talk about it. What I will say is just that for now, we relate well and life goes on. I have a son for him and besides he’s married now.
You mean he is married and still wants you back?
He is a Muslim and he is entitled to four as long as he can love them equally.
How did you meet this new guy?
It took a lot of courage. I did not date anyone for over a year. Meeting my love was divine. I met at Shoprite after many years. He is someone from my past, my late cousin’s friend who was very close to me back then. I knew he had a crush on me but for some reasons I avoided him. That was 23 years ago when I was daddy’s girl and my late cousin was a terror so I assumed all his friends were like him and I avoided him. He came to me when my career kicked off but then I was so much into Ara. And then we met again and he’s been the most wonderful man I have ever met. I am glad to have him.
You’ll be 40 shortly. Let’s look at the most trying moments?
I have had series of sad moments. I think the most painful was losing my dad. I lost my dad last year. What hurt me most was he was sick for almost five years. I was very close to my father and I watched him go slowly and painfully. He had diabetes and stroke. He was a strong man who was always in charge but slowly he became a shadow of himself. It was a traumatic experience for me. Watching him not been able to get up was heartbreaking. I learnt some things from the experience. At a point he couldn’t communicate any more. He couldn’t talk and write and there were things he wanted to say. You could see it in his eyes. He would hold my hands and tears would drop from his eyes. I was with him a day before he died. Another sad moment was when my marriage packed up, it wasn’t what I expected. Another was when I lost Deji Falaye, my close friend. He was the Commissioner for Culture & Tourism and I was Cultural Ambassador of my state so we had a lot in common; he was a promising young man who left a family behind.
Do you have any regrets?
I don’t have any. What I could have regretted was my marriage but I have a son from that so I can’t regret having my son; if I hadn’t married my husband, I wouldn’t have had my son.
…And the people’s verdict:
Blame Don Jazzy –Theo Okenyi, CEO, Zenith Entertainment
Don Jazzy is to blame for their beef. Instead of playing the big brother role by calming frayed nerves, he chose to stir it and this is creating bad blood among the younger artistes. So please, you should direct your questions to Don Jazzy.
Let them fight on –Precious Chukwu, undergraduate
Let them fight on! The more beef there is, the more tracks we will have; let the beef roll on! It’s good for hip hop.
Cold war is healthy –Sam Sam, lecturer
It is a normal development. Even in families, brothers fight brothers and sisters fight sisters. Rivalry and cold war is healthy because it helps all the concerned parties to sit up. They will soon resolve the issue because it’s neither their first nor would it be their last.
Wizkid is to blame –Pete Goodness, businessman
They have been having this cold war for quite a while and I think the blame should be heaped squarely on Wizkid. He undermined Davido when he said that the instrumental of Davido’s planned collabo with him was below standard and that he wouldn’t want to lower his brand by going ahead with the arrangement. Even if that was true, shouldn’t he have talked to Davido one-on-one rather than disclosing it to a third party? If I were Davido, I wouldn’t have taken such an insult lightly.
Blame it on Wizkid –Deji Ibrahim, current affairs commentator
I will answer your question by lifting some of their tweet-fight from my phone. Davido tweeted, ‘Snitch. No wonder you are not rolling with your day 1 niggas.’ And in reply, Wizkid left the subject matter entirely and addressed another issue thus: “Thank you so much New York! Boys talk, men work.” Did you hear that? Is Wizkid now referring to Davido as a boy while he is a man? Okay. By your physical rating, who looks more like a boy between them? Even in terms of current national and international rating, isn’t Davido ahead of Wizkid? So, I would say that it is Wizkid’s fault.
Davido more mature –Ade Mommodu, strategist
What’s my business with their feud? They’ve got their fame and money so if they choose to wash their dirty linen in public, it’s their choice. But from what I read in their tweets, Davido seems to be more mature.
It’s a gang up against Davido
–Chinelo Okocha, corps member
Judging from what I have read about the face-off, I would blame Wande Coal, D’banj and Wizkid for the controversy. I see it as a gang-up and Don Jazzy is the unseen hand behind it all. That was why Wande Coal’s manager all of a sudden started charging Davido so much for his planned collabo with Wande. Davido should just forget them and face his career.
Blame it on Wizkid –Anne Adeseyi, undergraduate
It’s obvious that Wizkid is not comfortable with Davido’s soaring success. He exploits every available opportunity to throw jabs at Davido. And Davido always tries to cover up by claiming there is no feud between them. They should realise that they are brothers in the industry.
Wizkid is enjoying the beef –Maxwell Great, petroleum engineer
According to what I read about the face-off sometime back, Don Jazzy was said to have instructed Wande Coal, who used to mentor both Davido and Wizkid to stop visiting or associating with Davido. That was in 2012 and it was all about a rumour that D’Banj had signed Davido to his record label. One thing led to another and the kid-singers have been pitched against each other. And Wizkid seems to be stoking the embers.
Feud is strategy to reinforce their relevance
–Igwenagu Chinolue, pharmacist
Don’t mind them. They are only trying to make themselves more relevant. That’s usually one of the strategies that celebrities use to reinforce their relevance before the public. They keep throwing up one controversy or the other about themselves. They know what they are doing and it’s working for them.
Blame Davido for face-off –Linda Chidalu
The truth of the matter is that though Wizkid may be wrong but I am blaming Davido for the renewed face-off. Why is he always trying to force himself on Wizkid for them to be friends? The world is so large and full of potential wonderful friends so why should he force himself on Wizkid? Since he has seen that Wizkid does not have a soft spot for him, why doesn’t he look elsewhere for friendship and partnership?
Don Jazzy is the unseen hand behind the quarrel –Blessed Nnajiofor, lawyer
What many people don’t know is that there is an unseen hand behind the knife tearing Davido and Wizkid apart. And that hand belongs to Don Jazzy. Wizkid and Davido should look inwards so that they will know what is really tearing them apart before they tear themselves to pieces.
Wande Coal is a politician–Ayorinde Jennifer, civil servant
Wande Coal behaved like a politician. Why would he allow Don Jazzy to choose friends for him? Does anyone tell Jazzy whom to associate with? Why is he afraid of Don Jazzy? Is Don Jazzy God? Even if Davido had truly been signed on by D’Banj’s Label, isn’t it his choice, his life, career and talent? Did he buy or inherit the talent from Don Jazzy? If Jazzy has issues with D’Banj, why should he transfer his aggression to an innocent hardworking boy? Wande Coal rather than do what was right acted like a politician.
It’s just a rivalry war –Lawrence Igweh, student
Davido and Wizkid’s feud is not new. What is playing out now dates back to sometime in 2012. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s just another rivalry war between artistes and that is not something new in the industry. It’s all about the fight for supremacy.
Wizkid uncomfortable with Davido –Adebayo Ibrahim
I don’t know the details of the issue. But from the little information I have about the artistes, Wizkid appears to be uncomfortable with Davido’s galloping fame. But he is only being childish because fighting Davido cannot stop him. Wizkid should remember Bob Marley’s lines, Who Jar blesses, no one curse.
Davido will never see Wizkid’s back –David Balogun, undergraduate
In this world, some people would want to be wiser and grow taller than their fathers even as toddlers. That’s the best way to qualify Davido. If not, why is he always trying to pose as if he is better than Wizkid? But the truth is that no matter how hard he tries, Davido will never see Wizkid’s back in the industry.
Davido should respect Wizkid
–Beatrice Hodonu, aspiring model
Davido is to be blamed. Even if he is older than Wizkid which I’m not sure of, he should at least respect him as an elder in the industry. As far as the Nigerian music industry is concerned, Davido is Wizkid’s junior and he should accord that respect to him no matter what.
It’s fight between D’Banj and Don Jazzy’s camps –Elendu James, importer
When you consider that somehow, Don Jazzy, Wande Coal and D’banj are connected with the current face-off between Wizkid and Davido, you will realise that it’s all about supremacy; call it rivalry between two main camps and the two camps are D’Banj’s and Don Jazzy’s.
Davido should ignore Wizkid –Graham Stephens, computer analyst
If I were Davido, I would have ignored Wizkid long ago and faced my career. Silence is golden and it is usually the best answer to answer an attention-seeker.
Wizkid should be cautioned –Temitope Adebiyi, undergraduate
Should I tell you the truth? They are fighting a supremacy war, period! I just pray that it doesn’t degenerate into a situation where they try to take the life of each other via hired assassins or charms. They should try to limit the war to tweeter and instagram. As for who is at fault, I don’t really no. But I think that Wizkid should be cautioned.
Davido started the fight –Sikirat Adebayo, hair stylist
I know very well that Wizkid isn’t at fault. Davido is always looking for his trouble by poking his nose where he has no business; Davido started this fight.
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I have found love again– Ara |
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